1 Peter 2:4

A Living Stone, a Chosen People

2:4 So as you come to him, ¹  a living stone rejected by men but ²  chosen and priceless ³  in God’s sight,

1 Peter 2:6-8

2:6 For it says ⁴  in scripture, “Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, ⁵  and whoever believes ⁶  in him ⁷  will never ⁸  be put to shame.” ⁹  2:7 So you who believe see ¹⁰  his value, ¹¹  but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the ¹²  cornerstone, ¹³  2:8 and a stumbling-stone ¹⁴  and a rock to trip over. ¹⁵  They stumble ¹⁶  because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. ¹⁷ 

¹ tn Grk “to whom coming…you are built up…” as a continuation of the reference to the Lord in v. 3.

² tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two phrases more than can be easily expressed in English.

³ tn Grk “chosen, priceless.”

⁴ tn Grk “it contains,” “it stands.”

⁵ tn Grk “chosen, priceless.”

⁶ tn Grk “the one who believes.”

⁷ tn Grk either “in him” or “in it,” but the OT and NT uses personify the stone as the King, the Messiah whom God will establish in Jerusalem.

⁸ tn The negative (οὐ μή, ou mh) is emphatic: “will certainly not.”

⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16.

¹⁰ tn Grk “to you who believe is the value,” referring to their perception of the stone in contrast to those who reject (vv. 7b-8). But the expression may also be translated as “to you who believe is this honor,” referring to the lack of shame cited in v. 6b.

¹¹ tn Grk “the value” or “the honor,” but the former is preferred since it comes from the same root as “priceless” in vv. 4, 6, and it is in contrast to the negative estimate of the stone by those who reject (vv. 7b-8).

¹² tn Grk “the head of the corner.”

¹³ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 (cf. Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11).

¹⁴ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” The latter phrase uses the term σκάνδαλον (skandalon), denoting an obstacle to faith, something that arouses anger and rejection.

¹⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 8:14.

¹⁶ tn Grk “who stumble,” referring to “those who do not believe” in vs. 7. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁷ tn Grk “to which they were also destined.”